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Poor side of Reno | no magic answer or secret decoder ring
some hybrids need their groceries early, some can wait a little while
you can never regain all lost yield potential from early season N deficiency
weather trumps all
have to balance ROI vs bragging rights
had fields this year that produced nearly 2.3 bushel of corn for every 1 pound of N, had others that barely produced 1 bushel for every 1 pound. certain cases it was the same hybrid, and in certain cases more N didn't equal more bushels. planting date was the only difference, but that changed the window of how the weather hit that crop physiologically.
at the end of the day, I would rather see dark green healthy corn going into pollen shed, after that if it starts to fire a bit it tells me I have built a solid factory that has taken up all the N it can and has enough parts on the shelf to finish that ear out.
I do not want to cobble that factory together early on as it will never perform like it should no matter how much N you throw at it.
if you are going to do some later apps don't skimp on the front end. that late app needs to be a top off rate.
we would all love to know if we are going to have a brutal wet May and June that robs all of our N. Then we would all wait and just sidedress/topdress. Problem with that is, first we don't know, second is usually in those situations by the time it dries out enough to run the corn is getting some major height and has already been hammered pretty good.
I am all for split apps if it works, but trying to save a few bucks to skimp early and gamble late seems like a messing with fire situation.
and I know you don't want to hear this, but no matter what the agronomist says or the books say, you have to trial and error it on YOUR ACRES. there is no substitute
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Late season N application sucess by hybrid brand??
